WELCOME TO TIGER PARK HOME OF THE 2008 SEC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT MEDIA SUPPLEMENT Florida • Alabama • LSU Tennessee • Georgia • Auburn Mississippi State • Ole Miss HOSTED BY LSU MAY 8-10, 2008 BATON ROUGE, LA. 2008 SEC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT MEDIA SUPPLEMENT 2008 SEC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT May 8-10 • Tiger Park • Baton Rouge, La. Thursday, May 8 Friday, May 9 Saturday, May 10 No. 4 Tennessee Game 1 (11:00 a.m.) No. 5 Georgia Game 5 (5:00 p.m.) No. 1 Florida Game 2 (1:30 p.m.) No. 8 Ole Miss No. 2 Alabama Game 7 SEC Tournament Champion (12:30 p.m.) NCAA Tournament Automatic Qualifier Game 3 (5:00 p.m.) No. 7 Mississippi State Game 6 (7:30 p.m.) No. 3 LSU Game 4 (7:30 p.m.) No. 6 Auburn ALL TIMES CENTRAL Seeding for the tournament will be as follows: The tournament will be seeded 1- 8, regardless of division, based on conference winning percentage. About the Southeastern Conference Commissioner: Michael L. Slive EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE COMMISSIONER ............................Mark Womack COORDINATOR OF FOOTBALL OFFICIALS .........................Rogers Redding ASSOCIATE COMMISSIONERS .........................................Mark Whitworth COMPLIANCE ASSISTANT ...............................................Marianne Clancy .........................................................................................Charles Bloom CHAMPIONSHIPS/VIDEO OPERATIONS ASSISTANT .................Ben Godwin .........................................................................................Debbie Corum ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/CHAMPIONSHIPS ..................Dauna Koonce ............................................................................................Greg Sankey ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/ADMINISTRATION...........Catherine Crockett ASSISTANT COMMISSIONERS................................................Craig Mattox RECEPTIONIST......................................................................Brenda Gray ...............................................................................................Gil Grimes .....................................................................................Laronica Conway EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE TO THE COMMISSIONER .......Kathryn Poe-Switzer DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS...................................Peggy Blake DIRECTOR OF MARKETING/LICENSING ..............................Charlie Hussey DIRECTOR OF TICKET OPERATIONS......................................David Knight ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF OFFICIATING ADMINISTRATION.....Slyvia Hagan ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF MEDIA RELATIONS..................DeWayne Peevy ........................................................................................Tammy Wilson ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF MEDIA RELATIONS......................Chuck Dunlap ...................................................................................Ayanna Wakefield ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CHAMPIONSHIPS........................Torie Johnson ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL ADMINISTRATION......Ginny Thomas ASST. DIRECTOR OF CHAMPONSHIP TICKET OPERATIONS ....John Gibson 1 2008 SEC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT MEDIA SUPPLEMENT MEDIA INFORMATION 2008 Southeastern Conference Softball Tournament Hosted by LSU • Baton Rouge, La. Tiger Park May 8-10, 2008 Welcome to LSU and the 8007 SEC Tournament. LSU Associate Sports Information Melissa Foley is serving as Media Coordinator. LSU softball-related questions should also be directed to Melissa Foley. Important Contact Information Phone Cell Email LSU Sports Information (225) 578-8226 Melissa Foley (225) 578-1869 (225) 241-4365 [email protected] Kent Lowe (225) 578-1864 (225) 241-4360 [email protected] LSU Sports Information Fax (225) 578-1861 Tiger Park Press Box (225) 578-0155 Credential Request Members of the media interested in covering this event need to request credentials online through LSUsport.net at http://www.lsusports.net//quest/Questionnaire.dbml?QID=2269&DB_OEM_ID=5200. Please be sure to complete the form in its entireity before submitting it, including the media affiliation, type of credential requested (media/photo/parking) and names to be placed on the credential. The deadline for submitting credential requests is Friday, May 2, 2008. The Tournament The 2008 SEC Tournament is a single-elimination tournament featuring the top eight teams from the conference, regardless of division. The winner of the tourna- ment is given the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The 2008 tournament is the 12th in the history of the SEC and the fifth time it will be hosted on campus. Alabama hosted in 2004, followed by Florida in 2005, Georgia in 2006 and Auburn in 2007. The SEC Tournament was set up in a double-elimina- tion format through 2005. In 2006, it went to a single-elimination format. Press Box The press box at Tiger Park has seating available for credentialed media and radio for each participating school. Seating is also available atop the press box under a covered tent. Wireless internet and a limited number of telephone lines are available. Please see a member of the LSU Sports Information Staff for wireless setup. Fax Service Please provide Melissa Foley with any fax requests at the start of the tournament. Final boxes, play-by-plays, notes and quotes can be faxed after each game. Photography Criteria Photographers will be allowed to shoot from field level in designated areas, at the far end of the bleachers above the first and third base dugouts and from the top of the press box. No photographers or video camera operators will be allowed in the backstop area behind home plate. No tripods will be allowed on the field. Credential Pick Up/Will Call Press credentials and media information packets will be available for pickup on Wednesday, May 7 at Tiger Park from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Credentials will also be avail- able for pickup on Thursday beginning at 9 a.m. Media Hospitality Meals will be served to the media in the media hospitality tent on the “Dub” Robinson practice tennis courts near the media entrance to Tiger Park each day. Drinks will be available throughout the tournament in the press box. Live Stats All seven games at the tournament will have live stats available by visiting http://www.lsusports.net/livestats. 2 2008 SEC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT MEDIA SUPPLEMENT Live Video The first six games of the tournament, to be played on Thursday and Friday, will have live video available for viewing by visiting http://www.lsusports.net/live. Normally a pay service, the tournament’s live video will be free to fans. Saturday’s game will not have live video available because the game will air live on Fox Sports. Pre-Tournament Interviews Wednesday, May 7 practice sessions at Tiger Park are open to the public. Those wishing to interview a coach or player must contact the SID/Media Relations Director of each participating school. Not all teams will practice at the field. Post-Game Interviews All coaches and players must be available for interviews. At the conclusion of a 10-minute cooling down period, the losing coach and one-to-two players will be brought to the interview area. They will be followed by the winning coach and two players. One-on-one interviews may be conducted after each press conference at the discretion of the school’s SID. Regardless of any regular season radio or television contracts, the coach is first obligated to the entire press staffing the tourna- ment and must report to the interview area immediately after the cooling-off period. The coach may not delay the postgame interview session with any one-on-one interview. After fulfilling all commitments to the entire media covering the tournament, coaches and players may participate in special interviews at the discretion of the school’s SID. Championship Saturday The SEC Softball Tournament Championship game will be played at 12:30 p.m. CT on May 10. Fox Sports will air the game live with Bernie Guenther (Play-By-Play) and Cheri Kempf (Color) behind the mic. Additionally, the Southeastern Conference and Dick Gabriel will provide a live broadcast of the game to be carried on XM Radio, channel 199, and www.secsports.com. Satellite Feeds Fox Sports has been contracted by the Southeastern Conference to provide video feeds for each day of the tournament. Feed times and coordinates are listed below. Date/Time Coordinates Thursday, May 8: 9:30 p.m. CT AMC 15, Transponder 1 (KU Band) Uplink: 14020 MHZ Horizontal Vertical Downlink: 11720 MHZ Vertical Friday, May 9: 9:30 p.m. CT AMC 15, Transponder 1 (KU Band) Uplink: 14020 MHZ Horizontal Downlink: 11720 MHZ Vertical Saturday, May 10: 3:30 p.m. CT* AMC 15, Transponder 1 (KU Band) Uplink: 14020 MHZ Horizontal Downlink: 11720 MHZ Vertical *Note, the championship game VNR will start 30 minutes after the game’s completion. Statistical Services Live stats, box scores, quotes, game recaps and all tournament action will be available in the press box and online at secsports.com and lsusports.net. If you will need specific information sent to you, please contact Melissa Foley at [email protected] (225.578.1869) or Ayanna Wakefield at [email protected] (205.458.3000). About LSU Tournament Personnel DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS ...................................................Skip Bertman TICKET MANAGER.................................................................Tiffany Creel SENIOR ASSOCIATE ATHLETICS DIRECTOR/SWA.................Julie Southard MEDIA RELATIONS COORDINATOR.......................................Melissa Foley DIRECTOR OF EVENT MANAGEMENT .............................Brendan Fouracre SPORTS MEDICINE COORDINATOR ...........................................Ana